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Modern Athletes I Would Want On My Side If A Bar Fight Broke Out

I’ve worked in the bar industry for quite some time. Every once in a while, one drunken sot at the bar takes offense to the way another drunken sot at the bar is looking at him and shit goes down. Most of the time, the two random fight-starters are too inebriated to land a solid punch and are easy to wrap up before too much damage is done but it’s always best to be prepared for the worst. I think Dalton once said that.

That is why I created my list of Modern Athletes I’d Like On My Side If A Bar Fight Breaks Out. It’s not a comprehensive list and I’m sure there are plenty of guys out there who slipped my mind but the few I’ve mentioned below are definite no-brainers.

Marshawn Lynch – Beast Mode has to be one of the greatest nicknames in modern sports and Lynch has definitely earned it. He carries two, three or four defenders at a time who are trying to bring him down. He is, with the minor exception of quarterback Russell Wilson, the entire Seattle Seahawks’ rushing attack. He might not be the league’s most proficient runner but he’s definitely the nastiest. He was second in the league in carries this season and with all the talk about the Seahawk’s defense, Lynch is the one forgotten reason the Hawks are where they are: in the Super Bowl. Take a closer look at the next guy who tries to tackle Lynch. You can tell it’s just something they really don’t want to do. Now imagine Lynch in a hypothetical bar fight, shedding off potential wannabes that want a piece of him. Let’s just say, if I walk into a bar with Beast Mode, we’re probably leaving there unscathed.

Metta World Peace/Stephen Jackson – This goes without saying. Before we’re quick to label Richard Sherman professional sports’ most insane man, let us not forget that Peace (formerly Ron Artest) and his cohort Jackson will forever be associated with the NBA’s darkest hour, the Malice at the Palace, where they both decided to rush into the stands and beat the crap out of someone they thought threw a beer onto the floor. As it turns out, they beat up the wrong guy but ended up landing a few more round houses while trying to find him. The NBA has gone to great lengths to remove any sort of violence from the game but we’ll always remember that Artest and Jackson are just a little off kilter. In fact, if I walked into a bar with the two of them, you’d have to figure the place would clear out just to be safe.

Pretty much every NHL player (and maybe even a coach or two) – I walked into one of my local watering holes a few months back. The Washington Capitals were in town and happened to hit that very same spot after that evening’s matchup with the Lightning. These guys were not small. Alexander Ovechkin was there and stood all of 6’3”, as were the rest of his boys. Let’s just say no NHL player is someone you’d ever want to step to or even look at the wrong way, unless you have a death wish. There’s a reason most of them don’t have any teeth. Heck, Vancouver Canucks coach John Tortorella was just suspended fifteen games for trying to take on the entire Calgary Flames roster in the hallway outside their locker room. And he’s a coach! If that doesn’t scream bat shit crazy, I don’t know what does.

NaVorro Bowman – If you didn’t catch last Sunday’s NFC Championship Game, you were one of only five people in America who missed it. And if you missed the contest, you also happened to miss one of the most gruesome football injuries you’ll ever see. Seattle was driving when Jermaine Kearse caught a short Russell Wilson pass, only to have it stripped by Bowman before he could get into the end zone. Another San Francisco defender tackled Kearse into Bowman, essentially snapping his knee in two. There lay Bowman, grimacing in pain… with the ball still in his arms. Are you kidding me? The guy’s lower leg was nearly detached from his body and he was still holding on to the football! As he was being carted off the field and into the locker room, likely in shock, some Seattle fans threw popcorn at him. Bowman sat there calmly, glancing up to see who did it then looked back down. You couldn’t see his expression through his visor but I’m quite certain that given the chance, with no repercussions, Bowman would have taken the popcorn-thrower and strangled him until his head popped off, which would have been fun to watch. The next time I get into a bar fight, I’ll gladly take Bowman on my side, bum leg and all. At least I know he’ll be there until the very end.

Kyle Farnsworth – I figured I had to choose at least one baseball player for this list but none really stood out. Sure, Carlos Zambrano is certifiable but I’m not looking to start fights, I’m looking to finish them. Zambrano’s the kind of guy who would start a fight with valet parking before even getting into the club. No, I’m looking for a cooler and Farnsworth is my guy. He might not be the best reliever of all time (he’s not) nor the most intimidating reliever of all time (he’s not that either). But he is a black belt in Tae Kwan Do and stands 6’4”, 230 lbs. Not long ago, Major League Baseball players voted Farnsworth as the guy they’d least like to fuck with. You have to figure 750 steroid users can’t be wrong.

Brock Lesnar – At this point, we all know Lesnar didn’t have much of a UFC career. He started out with a few nice, highly publicized fights until stiffer competition eventually knocked him on his ass. That doesn’t mean that if you walked into a bar with this 6’3”, 265 lb. freak show that nobody in the place would dare fuck with you. I can’t imagine a better insurance policy. I thought about adding Kimbo Slice to this list but Kimbo seems like the kind of a guy someone with a bone to pick would want to take a shot at him knowing he’s got a glass jaw. Can you imagine how quickly a fight would end if some random dude tried to take a shot at Lesnar? First of all, he’d need a stepladder and second of all, he’d probably end up tied up in a pretzel knot like had he just messed with the Zohan.

Ronda Rousey – Not only is she good-looking and undefeated in her UFC career but she’d kick the tar out of basically every guy I know. I know I said I wouldn’t bring Zambrano into a bar for fear he’d start shit for no reason but you have to imagine, watching some drunken tool hit on Rousey when she didn’t want to be hit on would be fun. Rousey is the meanest woman on the planet and trust me, I’ve dated some mean ones. Rumor has it that she’ll be starring in Expendables III. How much would you pay to see her kick the ever-living shit out of a ping pong-playing, former California-governing, fat maid-bopping Terminator? Yeah, get your checkbook ready. Rousey is pound-for-pound the toughest female on the planet and someone I’d take on my side in a bar brawl any day.

I agree with most of your list. We will agree to disagree about rousey. She is at a serious size and strength disadvantage to most men. She isn’t a great striker either. Judo and arm bar is her thing. Neither of which will serve her well in a bar fight. Lesner isn’t a great striker either for that matter…of course he will scare the shit out of you. I suppose if you need a table full of sorority girls cleared out rousey is your gal.

Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway will pay $1 billion to the person who correctly guesses the winner of every game during the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

By Stuart Pfiefer

Think you can guess the winners of all 67 games in this spring’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament?

Warren Buffett is betting a fortune that you can’t.

In what may be the largest sports bet in history, Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. will pay $1 billion to the person who correctly guesses the winner of every game during the March Madness classic.

Quicken Loans Inc., the contest sponsor, is paying an undisclosed premium to Buffett for his promise to pay the winner — if there is one.

“This will be the most fun. Just imagine if there’s one person left at the last game,” Buffett said Tuesday. “I will go to that final game with him or her and I’ll have a check in my pocket…. I think we’ll be rooting for different teams.”

The odds of correctly forecasting 67 games are extraordinarily thin. Even a skilled handicapper would have about a 1-in-1-billion chance of completing a perfect bracket, said Ezra Miller, a Duke University mathematics professor.

Buffett said the idea for the contest was his. He said he was talking sports with Quicken Loans’ founder and chairman, Dan Gilbert, in November when he pitched the idea of insuring a $1-billion prize for a perfect NCAA bracket.

Quicken and Berkshire announced the contest Tuesday. It will open March 3 to the first 10 million households that sign up online. The winner will have the option of taking 40 annual payments of $25 million or a lump sum of $500 million. Multiple winners would split the money.

Quicken also will award $100,000 each to the contest’s 20 most accurate brackets to use toward buying, refinancing or remodeling a home.

Team Rice vs Team Sanders , as the premise for the Pro Bowl ? What the hell !

Next, it’ll be Team Staubach vs Team Namath perhaps ? Or how about Team Ditka vs Team Bradshaw ?

Goodell now wants to abandon the extra point after a touchdown ? . He believes that the game can do without it , be sped up and made more exciting . These are the type of initiatives and innovations that the league needs to make it better alright ! LOL,LOL,LOL !! How about a less diluted brand and better coaches in the NFL than they currently possess ? Better yet , a marked increase in the level of talent in a number of the specialized areas !

If Roger Goodell were a PSA (public service announcement , not a prostate specific antigen) What would you want to hear from that idiot ?

Cards not dropping the cash to compete with L.A.? What other National League team will?

Buffett wants the perfect bracket? All he had to do was give me a call.

Rice, Sanders, Pro Bowl? Who gives a damn?

And personally I’m not a big fan of getting rid of the extra point or adding an “action point.” They thought about doing that in baseball long ago, where the pitcher would no longer have to throw four balls outside to his catcher to intentionally walk a batter. Never got done.

I love how you led off with Marshawn Lynch. Who wouldn’t want a “Beast” beside them when all heck breaks out and its your neck on the line? Don’t know why I thought of this when I read your post but back in the day I saw one of the toughest, grittiest performances ever by a QB in the form of one Donovan McNabb. Never liked the guy or his game the whole time he was here but, a) he was the best player at that position the Eagles have ever had and, b) he played a good chunk of a game early in his career at the Vet with a good chunk of his leg broken. I give the man his due for that, even though I’d be more likely to get into a scrap with him than fight one beside him!

It’s astonishing that they (Yankees) beat out the Dodgers on the deal, given the alleged confidence there was said to be from inside their (Los Angeles’) front office and the genuine belief by Magic Johnson that they would definitely sign Tanaka .

Is it true that during half-time at the Pro Bowl Deion Sanders will perform his song “Just For The Money “ in order to entertain those in attendance as well as those watching on television ? How bad must things be if this is the type of gimmick the NFL has to stoop to , merely to get fans interested in a meaningless game (Team Rice vs Team Sanders) ? Players who have financial incentives in terms of the Pro Bowl will get paid whether or not they’re on the field , just as long as they are part of the ballot process .

It could have got worse by all accounts , there were some teenage girls getting excited , because they were under the impression it was something to do with Team Edward vs Team Jacob ? Hint , for all fans of the Twilight series . LOL,LOL,LOL !!!

You’re surprised that Young declared bankruptcy ? Look at the entourages that these guys tend to surround themselves with ? If you’ve got twenty or thirty guys relying on you as the sole providers in terms of income . What else would you think is likely to happen ? Look at the Mike Tyson wreckage as the what no to do ” .

Deuce McAllister earned roughly $45 million over the course of his career and built a successful automotive dealership with several business partners only to then fall afoul one partner being charge with fraud and grand larceny , leading to the bankruptcy of his entire business interests .

Too many of these athletes having done at best no more than three years of college , land amongst the professional ranks . They don’t show the initiative to hire a lawyer with a business background, much less an accountant . And then the whole damn world acts surprise when they fall flat broke ?

Look at Bernie Kosar’s life at present . Flat broke , going through some serious health issues ( early onsets of Alzheimer’s , major speech impediment issues , gradual loss of hearing , rheumatoid arthritis, knee and back problems — all thought to be career related ) . He amassed a considerable fortune , only to have his father (manager & sometime business partner) defraud him and misspend millions of dollars on get rich schemes , that didn’t materialize to anything . Oh , add in the divorces and his idiotic belief of simply paying out the alimony to his exes as they wanted . Remind me , why anyone believes an education at the University of Miami is a worth a damn ?

I guess I’m surprised, yet not surprised, when any athlete declares bankruptcy after making an obscene amount of money over his career, no matter how short it was.

The Heat? Well, they’re still the second best team in the East by far. The Nets are starting to make some rumbling and are probably a team neither Indiana nor Miami will want to play before having to face each other.

Brock Lesnar is a pussy who doesn’t like to get hit. In a bar fight I’d rather have Cain Velasquez at my back than muscle bound Brock. For that matter I’d rather have someone like Keith Jardine who looks likes he’s already had his share of back alley encounters rather than lummox Lesnar.

And since I’m a gentleman, and a gentleman NEVER strikes a lady I’d keep your Rhonda Rousey choice to keep the bkitches in line.

Bowman, heck yeah… PSU grad.
NHL players, a lot of them. If a coach… can’t help but think of Roy, who was throwing down in the opening week of his first season.
I would add LaVar Arrington… saw that dude in a Walmart at PSU once… couldn’t even get around him in the aisle. He was a tank.

I’m trying to think of who was the baddest Florida Gator in my day. Tough call.

I’d probably go Jevon Kearse although I’m sure I’m missing a few.

Kevin Carter was also pretty large back in the day.

And I know Patric Young seems like a nice guy and a gentle giant but have you seen the arms on that dude? Don’t be surprised when an NBA team takes a shot on him in the first round despite the fact that his game will need a LOT of work for him to log any quality minutes at the next level.